ASU scientist brought unique entomological material from Argentina
The scientist had been carrying out research in the northwest of the country in the province of Jujuy, near the borders with Chile and Bolivia for more than a month.
“This is my second time in Latin America. The first time I worked in the equatorial forests of Peru, and now, thanks to the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, I managed to visit Argentina,” Roman V. Yakovlev said. “The northwest of Argentina was chosen by me for research not by chance. The southern border of the rainforests passes through the provinces of Jujuy, Salta and Tucuman. The private Eco Portal de Piedra National Park provided a unique opportunity to explore the fauna of primary, completely untouched forests at various heights. Here I collected unique material on a number of insect groups, which will become the basis for a number of publications, as well as for conducting molecular genetic studies of representatives of the Cossidae family."
The scientist noted that the most difficult thing while working in the forests of Argentina was that it required a constant search for new points for research, in order to conduct the most complete coverage of the territory. In addition, the expedition participants visited the highlands of the Andes and, in particular, the vicinity of the remote and inaccessible village of Iruya.
“Argentina is a huge country, with a completely diverse landscape and climate, from rainforests to Antarctica. Of course, the biodiversity of this country is striking in its diversity,” Roman V. Yakovlev added. “The general impressions of Argentina are positive: hospitable, nice people, beautiful cities, especially Buenos Aires and Cordoba, well-tolerated climate. Fernando Penco, a colleague and co-author of a number of publications, an employee of Maimonides University, located in Buenos Aires, provided me with great help on the expedition.”
